Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Dr. William J. Williams (b. circa 1809 - d. 1867)
MSA SC 5496-2467
Property Owner, Baltimore City

Biography:

Dr. William J. Williams married Margaret Ann Thomas on August 7, 1834.1 He married his second wife, Providence Hiss, on September 20, 1843.2 They had at least four children: Elizabeth H. (b. 1845), Sarah S. (b. 1847), Providence A. (b. 1848), and William J. (b. 1849). Dr. Williams operated his office from the corner of Front and Hillen streets.3

In 1850, the slave William Wesley Potts escaped, likely heading towards his birthplace of Queen Anne's County.4 In 1860, a free black servant, twelve-year-old Isaac Smith was living with the Williamses. A forty-five-year-old white woman name Hester Williams also lived with them.5

Dr. Williams was "a well-known practitioner of the Thompsonian school," a system of herbal, alternative medicince.6 He died suddenly from apoplexy on April 19, 1867, at his home on Baltimore and Temple streets. His obituary in the Baltimore Sun stated that Williams "was for thirty years member of Washington Lodge, No. 1, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was also a member of the Jerusalem Encampment of the same Order. He was likewise a member of Ottawa Tribe, No. 1, of the Order of Red Men; and in all those associations hald chief positions."7

The widowed Providence Williams was still living in Baltimore City in 1870. Her children Elizabeth, Sarah, Providence, and William still lived with her.8
 

1.     BALTIMORE COUNTY COURT (Marriage Licenses) [MSA C376-6]. William J. Williams and Margaret Ann Thomas, August 7, 1834.

2.     BALTIMORE COUNTY COURT (Marriage Licenses)[MSA C376-7]. William J. Williams and Providence Hiss, September 20, 1843.

3.     "Twenty-Five Dollars Reward." Baltimore Sun 5 December 1850.

4.     Ibid.

5.     U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD) for William Williams, 1860, Baltimore City, Ward 4, Page 143, Line 27 [MSA SM61-181, SCM 7205].

6.     "Sudden Death." Baltimore Sun April 20, 1867.
6.     J. Thomas Scharf, History of Baltimore City and County, from the Earliest Period to the Present Day (Philadelphia, PA: Louis H. Everts, 1881) 751.
6.     Haller, 38, 39, 42.

7.     "Sudden Death." Baltimore Sun April 20, 1867.

8.     U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD) for Providence Williams, 1870, Baltimore City, Ward 4, Page 211, Line 38 [MSA SM61-252, SCM 7238].

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